Greenwich Hostage Situation Call Was a Hoax: Cops

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Greenwich police received an alarming call just before 8 p.m. on Thursday from someone who called 911, claiming to be armed and holding several people hostage at a home on Round Hill Road.

It turned out to be a hoax and police said they do not yet know where the call came from.

Last night, Greenwich police set up a perimeter and tried to contact people inside the home, but no one answered at the number the 911 call was made from.

Authorities were eventually able to reach some family members who were not at the home, but some household members could not be located.

Police eventually went into the home and found no one inside.

"At this time we do not believe there was any actual hostage situation, and the Greenwich police are continuing to investigate the matter," Capt. Robert Berry said in an audio news release. "There have been no reported injuries from the incident and there is currently no reason to believe there is any threat to the community"

During the ordeal, authorities kept the public informed on Twitter.

The initial call was for what appeared to be very serious criminal matter. Currently there is no immediate threat to the general public

Greenwich police are investigating the incident from last night and are trying to identify the people involved.

This is one in a serious of local hoax calls reporting seemingly serious crimes, prompting a massive police presence. Two prior calls involved "swatting," in which the perpetrators have used technology to appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim's phone.

Sometimes it is done as a prank. Other times it is done for revenge, according to police.

Two recent cases have led to arrests.

Earlier this week, police investigated a case in Willimantic where someone called police and said he'd shot his mother. Detectives identified a 14-year-old neighbor who is accused of paying someone in Great Britain to report the fake incident and make it look like it was coming from the home.

Police in Madison arrested a juvenile from Long Island who is accused of reporting three violent crimes in January.